How to Make Fabric Cords

I have been playing with surface design techniques again today working on making fabric cords.

I am so-o-o pleased with the results. They are even better than I had imagined.

This is how I made them ………

First of all I selected some fabrics from my batik fabric stash. My fabric stash is vast as I was a quilter long before I became an artist. All my fabrics are 100% cotton. The batik fabrics work well for the cords because the design is on both sides of the fabric.

You could of course experiment with other types of fabric, because this is how we discover new and inspiring ideas.

I then tore a strip from the fabric about ½” wide. To begin the tear I snip the end of the fabric first with scissors.

Once I have torn my fabric strip I squeeze a line of glue down the middle of my strip.

This is the glue I used and it works very well.

But you can use any water based glue that dries clear.

Immediately after adding the glue I twist the strip in opposite directions from both ends.

Then give the strip a small pull and run my finger and thumb along the strip to make sure glue is distributed throughout.

And voilà, I have made a fabric cord.

I just leave it flat on the table to dry.

I then experimented a little more.

Here you will see four different strips. From the left the first one is ½” wide. The second one is wider. The third one has one edge pinked with pinking shears instead of torn and the fourth one is pinked on both sides.

And this is how they finished up.

If you look closely you will see that they are all slightly different.

So it depends what type of finish you would like.

My final experiment was to cut a strip with a varied width. Here you will see that I added two lines of glue and a thicker amount of it on the wider end.

This worked out very well too. It gave me a fabric cord that was less uniform in width. This could add more interest to any artwork.

So all in all I was very pleased with the results.

I can see a lot of possibilities with these fabric cords for use in my artwork. My imagination has been fired up and I can’t wait to work on a piece of art with the ideas that are racing around in my head. It feeds my soul to be able to incorporate fabric and stitchery into my art.

It’s amazing how playing with materials can inspire you. Why not give it a go!

More Mixed Surface ideas coming up over the coming days. Remember to subscribe to posts (top right) to receive email updates.